Official Texans @ Patriots Playoff Game Thread, 1/14/2017

[chuck]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

The upcoming weekend, the divisional P-O weekend is the best weekend in all of football IMO and I always enjoy it.

Like BOB talking about left-handed quarterbacks I say it every year - this is by far my favorite week of the season. The fact that the Texans are playing is a nice bonus.

Nate Silver's guys give us a 15% chance to win. I think that may be generous. But as I have said before, the Patriots are not unbeatable.

[chuck]

Dammit, I meant to say Bob. I'm so used to complaining about BOB that I'm now out of practice making fun of Bob. I've got to keep my thoughts better compartmentalized.

[HPF Bob]

The Sklar brothers point out that Osweiler is 2-0 lifetime versus Tom Brady and 2-1 in his career versus Belichick (well, okay, he was the holder in the AFC Championship Game last year but he did beat Brady head-to-head as a Bronco during the 2015 regular season).

[Arky]

Pendergast - NFL Playoffs, Divisional Round: Texans-Patriots

So in analyzing a game like this, there are certain things we should accept as givens, things we absolutely can't count on (knowing full well that some crazy, outlandish, "WHAT IN THE BLUE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" things will NEED to happen in order for the Texans to pull off the upset).

[HPF Bob]

The conspiracy theorist in me says there's no way CBS wanted to have such a dog matchup for primetime (and, let's face it, we're not talking about the Patriots here) although they love having a CBS-owned sports bar in the stadium which magically nets them an extra home game or two every year.

So the league has instructed the refs to keep it close for the first half, using phantom holding calls if necessary to keep the Texans within a touchdown. In the second half, with the crowd still engaged, the refs will make sure the Patriots win but don't cover. That way, both franchises leave with what they wanted. The Pats get a win and a tuneup for the AFCCG. The Texans leave with some respect, enough to continue rebuilding for another year.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

The conspiracy theorist in me says there's no way CBS wanted to have such a dog matchup for primetime (and, let's face it, we're not talking about the Patriots here) although they love having a CBS-owned sports bar in the stadium which magically nets them an extra home game or two every year.

So the league has instructed the refs to keep it close for the first half, using phantom holding calls if necessary to keep the Texans within a touchdown. In the second half, with the crowd still engaged, the refs will make sure the Patriots win but don't cover. That way, both franchises leave with what they wanted. The Pats get a win and a tuneup for the AFCCG. The Texans leave with some respect, enough to continue rebuilding for another year.

So did Goodell orchestrate Denver's Super Bowl win last year or did the Broncos accomplish that on their own?

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by chuck

So did Goodell orchestrate Denver's Super Bowl win last year or did the Broncos accomplish that on their own?

Chuckles, you don't have to go too far to find Patriot fans and Panther fans who thought that the league wanted to write a final chapter for Peyton Manning and can find key moments in the game where an official's ruling might have changed the course of the game.

For example, on Denver's first Super Bowl TD when Von Miller strip-sacked Cam Newton which became a Denver TD. Panther fans will complain that the officials overlooked a helmet to helmet hit by Miller on Newton (a refrain they revised in this year's season opener). Panther fans also thought the ruling of a non-catch via replay just before the sack also set up the Broncos score.

Do I think it's rigged? Not every game, not every play but when the league wants to determine an outcome they can do it. Go find the YouTube video series on the Niners-Seahawks rivalry of a few years ago if you think it's not possible.